Mommy, Pick Me Up

by Soledad Bravi

Overview

Mommy, Pick Me Up is about a little boy who calls for help from his mom whenever he needs anything—help finding his pajamas, assistance on the potty, or just a snuggle. Then he finally calls for his dad. Whatever could he want? This is sure to inspire giggles from both parents and kids, as they recognize parts of their own daily routines on these pages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374302689
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Soledad Bravi is a French illustrator who has worked in advertising as an art director before she began her career in illustration. She lives in Paris, France.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] delightful commentary on the often absurd imbalance of prestige between mothers and fathers. The humor in Mommy, Pick Me Up allows children to laugh at their own behavior—to step back and acknowledge it.

The New York Times Book Review - Edan Lepcuki

03/14/2016
Originally published in France, Bravi’s story follows a boy with pink skin, rosy cheeks, and a mop of brown hair as he calls for his mother. Chunky cartoons set against vivid backgrounds show the boy shivering in a towel (“Mommy? I’m cold...”), standing stark naked while tossing clothes out of a dresser (“Mommy! I can’t find my pajamas!”), and sitting on the potty (“Mommy, I’m done!!”), among other scenarios. Bravi (The Noisy Book) ends with a joke about just how indispensable mothers are: “Daddy? Daddy?” the boy cries, wandering across an empty blue page. “Where’s Mommy?” Given just how absent the boy’s mother is (she only appears in four scenes), readers will probably be wondering the same thing. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

02/01/2016
PreS-K—A boy calls on his mother for a variety of familiar reasons, ranging from feeling cold, hungry, and bored to wanting to sit on her lap. In the final pages, the boy at last calls for Daddy, only to ask, "Where's Mommy?" Bold, bright colors; solid, thick black lines; and large word bubbles make the illustrations visually appealing and attention-grabbing. The text is succinct and straightforward, designed for sharing. Unfortunately, with the exception of one page, the mother is a faceless nonentity and is either depicted as only a pair of legs or not seen at all when her son calls on her, making the relationship between the mother and son seem strangely cold and detached. The ending, while meant to be humorous, reinforces stereotypical parental roles, wherein the mother is the sole nurturer and the father is rendered merely a useless conduit to reach the mother. With an abundance of picture books about the relationship between mothers and their children, young readers would do better opting for Jane Cabrera's Mommy, Carry Me Please! (Holiday House, 2006), Laura Numeroff's What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best (S. & S., 1998), or a plethora of other stories on this subject. VERDICT While the illustrations are vibrant and eye-catching, the message is murky.—Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2016-02-02
This French import delivers a child's litany of requests to Mommy but doesn't offer much of a story. Bravi's eye-catching art employs vibrant hues and thick, black outlines that echo the bold lettering in the speech-balloon text. Although the first spread shows the child trying to fix breakfast alone ("MOMMY?! THERE'S NO MORE CEREAL"), subsequent ones do not obviously follow the chronology of a typical day as the child calls out, time and again, for Mommy. She doesn't appear in the illustrations until the ninth spread, and then only as a lap on which the child wishes to sit (the rest of her body is obscured by the speech-balloon request). And although she appears twice more in response to other requests, she never speaks. Daddy, however, does: "YES!" he responds after being called twice. The punch line is that this child only calls on Daddy this one time in order to ask, "Where's Mommy?" It's a tired end to a wearying text that seems hard-pressed to engage a child reader or to avoid alienating mommies. Both parents and child are white. Not one to pick up. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews